Proxies, guys, use them! I don't think anyone is going to fansub this show, there's really no point to it when there are official subs being released that will mostly likely be ripped for downloading later.
So, Gundam Age, that first episode was all sorts of good. Definitely not as bad and derivative of the kiddy mecha stuff as a lot of people assumed based on the look of the show. The episode starts out by throwing us right into the thick of things, showing Flit's mother being crushed and that basically sets the course for the rest of his life.
The animation on the show is beautiful, I've always enjoyed this style of animation, loved it on Inazuma Eleven and I like it a lot here. There seems to be softer colors going around in this and I'm a huge fan of that. A lot of the inbetween animation seems like it might pose a problem as far as quality goes in the future, but it looks like they did a great job with most of the animation in this episode, so the inbetween stuff isn't as obvious as in other shows.
Great soundtrack, no idea what people on 4chan were complaining about. The pieces all fit the mood just fine and I enjoyed hearing the battle theme played during Flit's first encounter with a UE in the Gundam. Loved the opening, the visuals are a little on the bland side, but I'm in love with that song, sadly I can't say the same for the ending theme . . . but I've never been too fond of Lantis artists.
The story's got a lot of potential! Most of the colony trivializes the threat of attack because they've never personally experienced it, even when Flit shows irrefutable proof that Nora is the next target, he's told to sit down and shut up. The military were the only ones really prepared for an attack, and I assume that lead to the death of a lot of civilians. I'm liking the apathetic viewpoint a lot of people had at the start, not because I like that mindset, but because I think it does sort of echo the mindsets of a great deal of the world's modern youth, most of them have never personally been involved with any war or violence, so it all seems world's away and removed from their life.
This show also has a nice cast of characters, Emily's definitely going to end up being the mother for the second generation, Vargas a fun character and not the happy-go-lucky in the face of danger figure I thought he would turn out to be. Other pilot whose name I can't remember was cool too, he's the intended pilot for Age and Flit had no problem with that, not wanting to jump into Age himself until it becomes clear that there's no other choice. Flit is . . . well he's like a mix of an adult and a by the books shounen type character. He's really passionate about what he does and believes, but at the same time the events in his life have allowed to have a much more adult mindset than most kids his age would have. I can imagine we might even get a few stories involving just how his dedication might be bordering on obsession . . . but that's probably a good while off, if it ever does happen.
And the UE! Now there are some interesting villains. We don't know if they're aliens or humans in suits. I'm guessing they're probably humans inside alien technology. I can't wait until we find out more about who they are and where they come from. It's obvious that they aren't just attacking blindly, they've got a leader and are coordinated, even destroying the fallen UE suit so the Nora forces won't be able to use its remains to study them. They're also powerful as heck, and I guess here is where the super robot heritage of Gundam comes into play, the Gundam is the only thing that can really stand against them. Everything else is absolutely decimated in battle and I love that the show doesn't portray this totally as the Gundam being the holy savior, but rather taking a slightly different point of view and portraying the destruction of the other mobile suits. Really going to be looking forward to how these enemies change throughout the series.
So, yeah! Gundam Age is a good show, looking forward to the rest of the year with it.
